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Making the most of your outdoor space should be a goal for every home owner. Unfortunately, too many people are content to let their lawns stretch out as underutilized and underperforming stretches of land that don’t inspire excitement or provide for a great deal of comfort. Rather than allowing yourself to fall victim to complacency, you should embrace design possibilities and excitement.

If the prospect of coming up with a design plan for an outdoor patio has deterred you from trying to upgrade your home, it’s important that you make the decision to seize the opportunity to reverse that trend. Educating yourself on your options might be an important push that sends you down an exciting path.

Below, you’ll find a guide to some tips for designing your new patio. Keeping these suggestions in mind can allow you to feel some excitement and enthusiasm about the process and might allow you to see opportunity in parts of your home that previously seemed much more like a burden.

Build in Your Features

Few things are more frustrating than completing a major home improvement project and then realizing at the end that you wish you had gone further with it. If you’re going to make the commitment to improve your space, it’s important that you consider all of your possible options and expend all of the necessary energy and resources up front to guarantee that you’re happy with the results.

This strategy can allow you to directly integrate important features into your design. If you think you might enjoy an outdoor fireplace, it can be built directly into the stone. Enclosures for electronics and proper wiring channels can be part of the design elements. Even some permanent furniture may be able to be sculpted from strong building materials in order to guarantee that it remains reliable over the life of your space.

Consider the Color Palette

Your patio should offer you the opportunity to embrace some peace and serenity. Anything that jars you out of that state should be avoided, so it’s important that you make wise decisions with your color choices. The extent of the landscaping in your yard and the frequency with which your space will be in direct sunlight can play important roles in picking out the tones that really make your space pop.

One of the major advantages to building a natural stone patio is the wide variety of colors and shades that can come both directly and indirectly from the surface of the stones. This variety can allow you to plan the perfect look for your new space and can guarantee that you’ll never be sitting and enjoying your patio and wondering why you made such a poor decision in your color palette.

Maximize Cool Air

Shielding yourself from the sun can also mean creating an obstruction that prevents air from moving freely over your patio. Stagnant air can cause your space to feel stuffy or uninviting even when the weather is perfect and can leave you looking for solutions to bring back a feeling of freshness.

Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is also among the simplest. By installing a simple ceiling fan above your patio, you can be sure to keep air moving and remain cool and comfortable even in stifling weather. A fan can help guarantee that you’re always able to enjoy your space and you never feel shut out from relaxing.

Bourget Bros. Building Materials is an experienced supply firm who can give you access to the paving stones you need to build the foundation of a new space. Turning to the benefits of natural stone can provide you with comfort and satisfaction and can form the basis of a new, long-term fixture.

More and more homeowners are interested not only in reducing their water bills but also in helping the environment. You can have both without sacrificing beauty.
One excellent way is to add a rock garden to your yard. Whether it’s a focal point, a small yard or just one piece of a large and sprawling landscape design, a well-executed rock garden can really make the landscape pop, while making your life easier.
If you’re thinking of including one in your own space, here’s a quick primer on how to do it.

Pick a Good Spot
Choose a sunny spot in the yard. Xeriscaping is a type of drought-tolerant landscaping, like a rock garden, and is designed to not need much watering. The plants generally thrive in sunny conditions.
This makes a rock garden ideal for a section of the yard that’s hard to reach or where you never seem to be able to grow lush greenery. Consider the views of your chosen location from all angles, including the house, entertainment space, and walkways.

Add a Slope
You’ll want a spot with lots of good drainage and a slight slope that will help rainwater runoff into thirstier parts of your yard. If your garden doesn’t naturally come with these features, you can add them with a little digging and planning. Add drainage underneath the ground by mixing in a few bulky rocks with the dirt below or adding a layer of sand.
A rock garden generally benefits visually from having different levels, so feel free to build it upward with a simple dirt berm, a retaining wall, or layers of medium-sized rocks.

Select Interesting Rocks
Visit your local natural stone supplier and look for some attractive boulders and rocks of different sizes. For a small or medium garden, you’ll probably want one to three large boulders to use as centerpieces. Stick with odd numbers of boulders, since this quantity generally appears more natural and random.
Boulders and large rocks should be settled into the ground about one-third of the way up the rock. This will help keep them stable and make them look more natural. When choosing your base boulders, look for ones that will hold up well in the dirt but that also look attractive above the ground.
Once your larger rocks are in place, add a variety of smaller sizes around them. Use pebbles, pea gravel, or crushed rock to cover the surrounding soil around the larger stones. Be careful to avoid too much symmetry, since this will look man-made.

Add Flowers
The plants and flowers in a rock garden add a fun touch of color and vibrancy. Depending on the style of your overall yard design, you can opt for anything from desert succulents to lush, creeping vines.
If you’re not sure where to start with your rock garden greenery, try a few fun (but hardy) flowers like aubrietia, saxifrage, baby’s breath, or bellflower. Add a small groundcover (like creeping phlox) for some ornamental grasses around the base of the garden and between rocks to help it blend in with the surrounding landscape.
Once your basic features are in place, you may want to add a final touch with an accent piece. Again, your particular accessories will depend on your landscape style, but popular choices include small, self-contained water fountains, a bird bath, an overturned plant pot, or small statuary. Use outdoor solar lights to frame it beautifully at night.
Your new rock garden is sure to bring years of enjoyment to you, your family, and your friends. As a low-maintenance part of your yard, it may even inspire you to find new ways to incorporate xeriscaping into your landscape design. Contact the experts at Bourget Bros. Building Materials for more information on xeriscaping your yard.

As a homeowner, it’s important that you do everything you can to take advantage of the available space in your lawn. Unfortunately, many people allow themselves to be limited by their own lack of vision, and they may not consider all of the exciting possibilities that come with building materials that are simultaneously modern and ancient.

Developments in landscaping with natural stone may make it an extremely appealing option for many people, but hesitation persists due to a lack of familiarity of working with it. By overcoming that hesitation, and learning about all of the benefits that stone has to offer, a new world of ideas and inspiration await.

Below, you’ll find a guide to some of the benefits and possibilities that stone has to offer. Its’ durability and natural beauty will last for years to come, creating a space you will want to come back to time and again.

Durability

Many people who settle on wood or composite products find a great deal of frustration in a relatively short amount of time. Exposure to heat and sunlight can cause these surfaces to crack and split. Moreover, it may require you to put in countless hours of maintenance in an attempt to make your space usable again.

Natural stone products don’t have these same types of restrictions. In fact, many natural stones get even more attractive through wear and exposure. The stone surfaces may wear down to a smooth polish, and sunlight can bring out tones in the stone that highlight warmth and comfort.

Natural stones are also resistant to grease and liquids, making them an excellent choice for a patio area where entertaining guests with food and drink may cause the occasional spill.

Consistent Aesthetic

Developing a spot to relax that looks like it grew naturally from your yard can provide a great deal of peace and tranquility. Other materials may break up the natural beauty of your lawn, but stone will typically accentuate it.

By utilizing earth tones that blend into your space, natural stone pavers and fixtures can highlight the best aspects of your landscaping, while also smoothing over any visible imperfections and rough spots.

Stone paving can also help you add additional soothing features that blend in with natural surroundings. Fountains and ponds can add an air of relaxation and sophistication, and they’re frequently comprised of stone.

By sticking with a consistent material, you can create the perception that a landscaped area that was completed in pieces is actually one consistent project. A cohesive design promotes the precise and thoughtful appearance that you want to see from your landscaping efforts. Consistency can go a long way toward promoting a sophisticated, relaxed aesthetic.

Sustainability

While it’s important to add value and comfort to your home, many people now have a strong environmental conscience and want to rely on sustainable materials in order to do so. Landscaping with wood can require a great deal of lumber, and that raises red flags for many concerned homeowners.

By using natural stone, you can commit to an environmental upgrade that’s consistent with the way you prefer to live your life.

Bourget Bros. Building Materials is committed to helping you see your natural stone landscape design projects all the way through to completion. Relying on 70 years of experience and know-how, Bourget Bros. offers an extensive selection of natural stone options to help turn any dream into a reality.

Bourget Bros. Building Materials and Bourget Flagstone Co. offer a full array of decorative and landscaping options to help turn any design dream into a reality. Our buyers are constantly on the lookout for new and innovative products and go to great lengths to ensure that we are sourcing from only the finest suppliers in the market.

We offer an extensive collection of custom water features and fountains, all made in house by our team of expert craftsmen. Natural stone garden benches and decorative stone art are displayed at both of our locations, and can also be custom tailored to your exact specifications.

Both stores have a large open display of pebbles, crushed glass and decorative gravel where you can literally touch the assortment to obtain samples.

Our vast selection of Xeriscape landscape materials is the perfect solution for those looking to conserve water while still maintaining an attractive outdoor space. We look forward to sharing how you can create a beautiful landscape design using eco-friendly products such as recycled glass and pebble groundcovers.

Techniques for working with rock and stone are constantly evolving. Below, you’ll find a guide to some of the advantages of educating yourself on working with natural stone products.

Stabilizing Your Business by Expanding Your Repertoire: Advantages of Using Stone Building Materials

As a contractor, one of your biggest challenges is bound to be finding a steady flow of work. Building strong relationships with repeat customers can certainly help with that goal, but most clients have a limited number of construction projects. To make sure you always have work, you have to figure out how to branch out to new fields and guarantee that you never have to turn down a job due to a lack of expertise.

Expanding your knowledge, then, can be a central responsibility. The knowledge you need isn’t simply limited to business strategies and construction techniques but can also come from learning more about the materials themselves. Rock and stone may be as old as the planet itself, but techniques for working with them are constantly evolving.

Below, you’ll find a guide to some of the advantages of educating yourself on working with natural stone products.

Long-Lasting Results

It can be easy to satisfy a client immediately after the conclusion of a contracting job, but more challenging is making sure that that satisfaction is permanent. Ultimately, your reputation will be built on the back of your longevity. It’s important that former customers tell their friends and neighbors who did their work and offer glowing recommendations.

The best way to secure that kind of permanence is by working with natural stone. The geological history of the planet speaks for itself, so you can be confident that stone tile and other masonry pieces will be resilient and maintain their strength for years to come. Natural wear on stone can even be a huge benefit, as it may bring out colors and textures that can create a truly unique appearance.

Environmental Sustainability

As more and more people become environmentally conscious, it stands to reason that those interests will spill over into many arenas. The construction industry is not immune from environmental concerns, as some building products have been criticized for their environmental impact.

For instance, lumber usage can result in deforesting is not sustainably sourced, and the production of other materials may involve excessive energy consumption or an increase in emissions.

Stone products, on the other hand, come naturally from the earth and can generally be removed without creating excessive damage to the environment. Stone is also a fairly good insulating material, meaning that climate-controlled environments are less likely to leak. As a result, less energy will be expended—and clients could even save on energy bills.

By promoting conservation through multiple means, your choice of stone products can represent a bold stand in favor of an environmental ethic that prefers careful consumption.

Simpler Construction

Many people hesitate to commit to learning a new skill or trade because they’re intimidated by the knowledge they’ll have to amass before they can use it. With stone construction, however, the opposite is often true. If you already have a base of construction knowledge, you may find yourself with the exact background you need to make a very easy transition.

Many building materials require pretreating, specific upkeep, careful maintenance instructions, and a myriad of other specific bits of knowledge. Stone can stand strong and resilient without your stressing over almost any of those concerns.

As a contractor, you need to take steps that enable you to deliver the services your customers really want. One of these services is stone construction, so to be a truly versatile and knowledgeable contractor, you need to embrace natural stone materials.

To get these materials or learn more about them, talk to Bourget Bros. Building Materials. We have experience in many established projects and can provide you with the knowledge and support you need.

Bourget Bros. Building Materials is proudly celebrating our 70th year servicing the community. Our building materials and flagstone locations are renowned for offering the highest quality materials and services at fair and reasonable prices.

Now is the perfect time to stop in and get reacquainted with all the things you’ve loved about us, along with discovering some of the many new things we have to offer throughout both of our locations.

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